The present invention relates generally to deodorant compositions for human and animal excrement and to a method for their use. The term xe2x80x9canimalxe2x80x9d as used in this specification refers especially to pets and livestock. More specifically the present invention relates to novel compositions, preferably aqueous compositions, comprises of acidic agents and water soluble polymers for applying on excrement, that are useful as deodorant compositions and for attenuating and dispersing nitrate concentrations in the environment and in the water reservoir, wherein the deodorizing of the excrement is based on acidification by organic acids and excrement coating by water soluble polymers which act as barriers for the offensive odor producing compounds of the excrement and form, upon drying, a film, turning the excrement into solid cakes easy to handle and with no perceptible odor.
Owners of animals such as pets and livestock alike face problems caused by animal excrement; its foul odor and the need to eliminate it. Human excrement, such as in out houses in camp sites and army camps, pose the same problems. National and international regulations require that materials used for treating excrement, be non toxic and friendly to the environment, in particular that they do not contribute to adding nitrates or phosphates to the water reservoir. Additional requirements of commercial deodorizing compositions are low cost, simplicity of use in and outdoors and efficient deodorizing of excrement in liquid and solid forms. The principle targets of most existing treatment methods for preventing offensive odors of animal excrement, are ammonia and indolic amines. The common method to prevent offensive odors and retard bacterial and enzymatic decomposition is converting these compounds to their much less volatile ammonium salts by various organic and inorganic acids or their salts, as described in numerous publications.
Although acidification prevents offensive odors originating from basic ammonia and amines, it intensifies the offensive odors due to the excrement""s volatile ammonium salts by various organic and inorganic acids or their salts, as described in numerous publications.
Although acidification prevents offensive odors originating from basic ammonia and amines, it intensifies the offensive odors due to the excrement""s volatile organic acids such as acetic, propionic and butyric acids, due to the stabilization of their non ionized form. Furthermore, feces of low mobility do not come into full contact with the deodorizing agents which are usually absorbed or sprayed on pet""s litter and hence are only partially deodorized. Therefore, these is a need for an inexpensive, effective and environment friendly composition which will include an impermeable barrier to excrement offensive odors in addition to safe deodorizing treatment of ammonia and idolic amines. This impermeable barrier has an additional advantage of slowing down the air oxidative and enzymatic nitrification of the excrement ammonia and organic nitrogen leading to dispersion and attenuation of nitrate concentrations in the environment. Of the known deodorizing formulations for pet and livestock few, if any, are of practical use. Use is made of cross-lined polymer gels, as water absorbing materials, in compositions for treatment of pet excrement, in several patents. Japanese patents 5,269,164, 3,290,126 and 2,238,834 disclose polymer gels with high water absorbing capacity for absorbing animal excretions. These gels may previously be blended with deodorant agents. Japanese patent 63185323 discloses absorbents for deodorizing pet excrement""s. Polyvinyl alcohol is used as a binder in the production of pellets comprises of water absorbing inorganic polymers, like zeolites, and water soluble inorganic salts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,481 describes NH3 scavenging deodorant made of aliphatic polycarboxylic acids for treatment of livestock excrement. Japanese patents 61119127 and 62153348 describe compositions for treating pet feces with a water insoluble coating to reduce odors and to enable feces to be removed by hand. These compositions, however, comprise toxic and ecologically unsafe volatile organic solvents such as acetone, methylene chloride, benzene, CFCl3 and the expensive and toxic cyanoacrylic acid monomer.
The present invention describes novel deodorizing compositions comprising organic acids and water soluble polymers for excrement coating, which meet the above mentioned requirements. Furthermore, the present invention overcomes the two above mentioned major limitations of offensive odor due to stabilizing the non ionized form of excrement""s volatile organic acids and low mobility feces not coming in full contact with the deodorizing composition, by incorporating water soluble barrier forming agents in the deodorant composition.
The present invention relates to deodorizing compositions for human and animal excrement, especially pets and livestock, comprised of acidic agents and water soluble polymers, wherein the acidic agents are base neutralizers for the ammonia and indolic amines in the excrement and the water soluble polymers are film forming polymers, of molecular weight higher then 15,000, forming a barrier [forming agents] for the vapor of the offensive odor producing compounds in the excrement. The present invention also relates to compositions (not necessarily deodorant compositions) comprised of acidic agents and water soluble polymers wherein the water soluble polymers are barrier forming agents useful for slowing down the air oxidative and enzymatic nitrification of the excrement ammonia and organic nitrogen thus dispersing and attenuating nitrate concentrations in the environment and in the water reservoir. These composition are preferably an aqueous solution. The present invention further relates to a method of applying said compositions to excrement. Said compositions may be applied to excrement in liquid form by mixing the liquid composition together with the excrement. This method is especially useful in treating livestock excrement. Said compositions may also be applied in form of a spray, by spraying the composition directly on to the excrement whereas, upon drying, the sprayed compositions form a thin film turning the excrement into solid cakes, easy to handle with no perceptible smell.